Thomas Berry

Thomas Berry (15 January 1838-12 October 1873) was an American criminal who was the leader of a powerful crime syndicate in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was nicknamed "King of the Rock" because of his power in Little Rock, but he was killed in 1873.

Biography
Thomas Berry was born on 15 January 1838 in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. Berry was from a lower-class family, and he turned to crime in order to make a living. Berry was responsible for extortion activities in his hometown, forcing shopkeepers, merchants, and landowners to pay him money unless they wanted to deal with him and some hired muscle. Berry made a profit from this new business, and he became the undisputed "King of the Rock", as he was nicknamed. He had some politicians and law enforcement on the take to keep his business safe, and he became an infamous crime lord. Berry had a net worth of $50,000 in 1864 ($746,268 in 2013), and he became a wealthy person through both extortion and the running of liquor from Mexico to the United States.

Unfortunately for Berry, there was competition that sprung up, in addition to the law enforcement's cracking-down on his empire. Kieran Robinson's organization rose to power and took over many of Berry's interests, and on 10 October 1873 Berry was shot twice by a man as he was leaving an outhouse. He died of his wounds two days later, ending his criminal empire.